Valkyrie's Mission
by Swagnarok
Summary: Ayumi Yoshida goes missing, after having become deeply invested in a game called "Triskelion". Her friends fight to save her, but her life is not the only thing at stake. WARNING: Disturbing Content. Episode 981, Two Hour Special.
1. Chapter 1

Mahiko, age 11, was feeling pretty good about himself. It was the second time since he'd started the game five days ago, but he'd just beaten a monster. A Water Imp, level 6. Considering that he was level 5, that wasn't bad at all.

Of course, now his HP bar was nearly depleted. He'd expended his last item in the last battle. Fortunately, there was a car lot up ahead. As of two days ago it was a local base for his team; provided somebody had been paying the tribute, it should've still been so when he got there. He could chill there for a while and replenish his health, and then go home. He was unlikely to be attacked by an enemy player. As long as he didn't come across any kids his age, or teenagers, he knew he was probably safe.

He crossed the street at the designated place. All he had to do was proceed about a three hundred feet and then turn right at another crosswalk, then head straight until he hit the library. While he was there, he could be seated and do some studying for the coming science quiz. Science was his weak point. But then again, some of his friends would likely be there. Did he really want to spend that time doing-

His phone alarm went off.

Rats! he thought.

It was a Black Geist, level 10. He knew he wasn't near strong enough to fight that thing off, or in good enough health. All it'd take was one clean hit. And from what he'd heard, some higher level monsters could penetrate buildings. His only recourse, then, was to outrun it.

And as soon as he turned around, another Black Geist of the same level was coming at him. He was pinned down, and they'd be upon him in a matter of seconds.

There was only one more place he could go:

He ran into the busy street, hoping to cross it and esca-

*screeech*

*thud*

And with that, Mahiko became one of five children in that month alone to be killed by a motor vehicle on that particular street of Beika, Tokyo.

 **Opening**

(Shameless by CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE)

Whoo girl you're as cool as ice

Deal me another full deck o' lies

Dontcha dare break yer poker face

Empty my heart's vault at record pace

 _Baby yeeeeeah!_

(Not all that glitters is gold! A pearly white smile can mask a heart as black as coal! A friend goes missing, sparking a crisis that uncovers a monstrous conspiracy! Perceiving the one and only truth! With the body of a child but the mind of an adult, my name is DETECTIVE CONAN!)

And so we find ourselves at this crossroad again

Per my count, you've lied to me five times tonight

You've woven a tale that'd leave J.R.R. Tolkien speechless

A carefully constructed narrative flimsier than a house of cards

I don't know if I should let you walk away

I don't know if you're worth the trouble

But what I care enough to demand an answer to

"What did I have that you wanted for your own?"

You shameless thing, a web of deceit left in your wake

Antithetical to the driving force that binds people together

A thick veil of mist shrouds the true you that you can't let slip

In the name of all that's true, I'll deconstruct you piece by piece!

 **Valkyrie's Mission**

The past few days had been a dizzying whirlwind for Conan. He had received a warning from Bourbon about a member of the Organization about whom almost nothing was known save his/her codename, Mezcal; subsequently, he investigated Teitan's new PE teacher, Kanehiko Torishima. Two days afterwards, he was forced to go clothes shopping with Eri, and in the process he got caught up in yet another case. Yesterday, he investigated another member of the school faculty, Iroha Namiki, the new school nurse, this time on suspicion of possession of marijuana.

In that time...no, even before then, something had been going on with Ayumi. He hadn't noticed; he was too busy, and she wasn't exactly the most chatty person. Even when Ayumi didn't show up for school yesterday, he brushed it aside as her being sick, or something. He didn't consider the matter something that couldn't wait. But today, it became something that Conan could no longer afford to ignore.

It started when Conan woke up this morning, to the sound of his phone. He looked at his phone.

It was Mitsuhiko.

He answered: "I swear, you'd better have some good reason for calling me at 5:05 in the morning."

"I'm sorry, Conan, but this can't wait!" Mitsuhiko said.

"Why do you sound so serious?" Conan asked, sitting up in bed.

"Yesterday, me and Genta went to Ayumi-chan's house after school, but she wasn't there!" Mitsuhiko asked. "And her parents said they didn't know where she was either!"

"Yeah? Maybe she was playing hookie or something."

"Ayumi-chan? Skip school? No way! She's a model student!" Mitsuhiko said. "So just now, I woke up early and visited Ayumi-chan's house, to see if she'd come home yet. She hasn't! She's still missing!"

Conan got out of bed and stood up. "Where are you now?"

"Waiting at Haido Park."

"Are you stupid? You'll catch a cold that way!" Conan said. "I'm coming as fast as I can. Wait for me inside a warm building. You got your Detective Boys' badge on hand?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Hold on to that, and I'll come to you. Over and out."

He hung up.

Then somebody threw a shirt and pants at him.

"Get dressed so we can go quickly," Nancy said, reaching into the closet to find herself something.

"How much of that did you overhear?" Conan asked.

"Enough. Ayumi-chan's missing, right?"

Conan nodded. "Since yesterday."

Conan took the shirt and pants and headed for the bathroom.

Three minutes later, he walked out, having also brushed his teeth and fixed his hair.

He went back to his room and waited impatiently for Nancy to unlock the door.

"Oi, how long can it take you to change clothes?"

She opened it. "Let's go."

"Alright, just gimme a minute to put my shoes on."

"Going somewhere?"

Eri stood a few feet away, a stern look on her face.

"Mom, we've got no time to argue about this!" Nancy said. "Ayumi-chan's missing!"

Eri was taken back by the news. "Since when?"

"Since yesterday, when she didn't show up for school," Conan said. "She may've been gone since even before then."

"...I see. And what were you going to do about it?" Eri asked.

"We were going to meet with Mitsuhiko to plan our next move," Conan said.

Eri sighed. "I will say: that girl, Ayumi-chan, is lucky to have friends like you guys. Alright. Go, but be careful, and make sure to be back before tonight."

As they were leaving, Eri had the most peculiar thought:

Did Nancy just call me mom?

 **Scene Transition**

Conan, Nancy, Mitsuhiko, Genta, Dr. Agasa, and...Shiro met up inside the mall entrance.

"What are you doing here?" Conan asked suspiciously.

"Isn't it obvious?" Shiro retorted. "Ayumi-chan's missing, and I'm gonna help find her."

Nancy coughed loudly to get everyone's attention. "Now that we're all here..."

"Have you tried her Detective Boys badge?" the Professor asked.

"Yeah, yesterday and a few minutes ago," Conan said. "Wherever she went, she didn't take it with her. It's still at her house."

"Uh, has anyone just tried calling her?" Genta asked.

"I did two days ago, yesterday, and today," Mitsuhiko said.

"Wait, two days ago?" Shiro asked. "I thought she went missing yesterday."

"Uh, no, according to Ayumi-chan's parents she went missing sometime after school two days ago," Mitsuhiko said. "She went straight home after school, and then about an hour and a half later she went somewhere and then never came home."

"Did she tell them where she was headed?" Nancy asked.

"Uh, I forgot to ask them that," Mitsuhiko said, a bit sheepishly.

"Then her house is the first place we should pay a visit to," Conan said.

 **Scene Transition**

They knocked on the door.

Ayumi's father answered it. He stepped aside and let them in without saying a word.

"How f***ing dare you!" they could hear Ayumi's mother saying. "My daughter's gone missing and you think I'm to blame?"

"It's just a precaution," Megure said. "You oughtn't take offense at us doing a little looking."

Ayumi's mother and the Inspector were standing in the kitchen. It was then that they noticed Ayumi's friends and the creepy old guy who always hung out with them.

"If you kids want to take a look around, be my guest," she said , exasperated.

"Uh, no, we just had a question," Mitsuhiko said.

"Did Ayumi-chan say where she was going when she last left the house?" Shiro asked.

"No, but she was probably headed to the library," Ayumi's mother said. "She'd been going there a lot lately."

They all knew where to go next.

 **Scene Transition**

"What?! Ayumi-chan's missing?"

Shiho laid out her hand. "Gimme. Now."

"Are you sure about this?" Atsushi asked.

"How can you even ask that?" Shiho said. "If my friend's in trouble, that takes precedence over a scenic tour of Shikoku, even if it's with you guys for the first time in a decade. Look, we can try this again sometime in the future, and I thoroughly enjoyed the time we had. But right now, I couldn't enjoy myself here if I tried."

Elena reached into her pocket and took out a pill. She handed it to her daughter. "Alright. Go do it in the bathroom, and I'll get you a change of clothes."

She looked at her husband. "Looks like our vacation got cut short."

He shrugged. "Vacations are overrated."

"Thanks for understanding," Shiho said, hugging them both. "I'll miss you both."

She turned to Satoshi. "Another time, little bro."

She embraced him, and as she did, she whispered in his ear:

"And best of luck with Masumi."

Satoshi was visibly blushing as Shiho ran off to use the bathroom.

"Hmm, what did she say to you?" Atsushi asked.

"N-nothing," he responded bashfully.

 **Scene Transition**

"Evidently, Ayumi-chan was unable to find her."

One of the six teenagers gathered around the library's coffee/reading table sighed. "We'll have to look into finding ourselves another spymaster then. Until she gets back."

"But whoever it is will have to build the connections with our informants from scratch."

"Um, excuse me."

A boy in glasses, with his friends and an obese elderly man behind him, was looking at them intently. "You mentioned Ayumi-chan? Ayumi Yoshida?"

One of them nodded. "You her school friends?"

"Yeah," Conan said. "Do you know where she is?"

"No, none of us have seen her since two days ago," one of them said.

"So she did come here after leaving her house," Shiro said.

"So, um, after she was here two days ago, do you know where she went she left this library?" Dr. Agasa asked.

"No, she didn't say," one of them said. "But, she was asking about Maria-chan. If you're Ayumi-chan's classmates, then you know who we're talking about?"

"Maria Higashio?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah. She was the one who introduced Ayumi-chan to the game," one of them said. "But Maria-chan also went missing, sometime before Ayumi-chan came to the library that day. So Ayumi-chan was asking about her, so I suggested that she ask Peniwaisu where she was."

"Peniwaisu?" they all repeated.

"Yeah, he's the game creator and mod," one of them said.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Maria around lately," Genta said.

"Yeah, we'll have to remember to go look for her too, after we find Ayumi-chan," Mitsuhiko said.

Peniwaisu, Agasa thought. Surely not...

"So you have no idea where she might be?" Conan asked them.

"No," one of them said. "I hope she's alright."

"It's a shame something like this would happen, right after she had that accident," one of them said.

"Huh? Accident?" Nancy said.

"What, she didn't tell you guys? The day before she last came here she was trying to climb a stack of logs to scan an emblem whenever it came tumbling down. She could've died, from what I heard."

"Hey, where did this happen at?" Conan pressed.

"It was at the-

 **Scene Transition**

At last, they came to the lumber yard where Ayumi's accident supposedly took place.

"Well, we're about to trespass on private property," Conan said. "Anybody who wants to turn back should do so now."

" _Baka_ , we all want to find her as much as you do," Shiro said.

And with that, Shiro scaled the fence.

They followed after him, and they all landed safely on the other side (except for the Professor, who was too big to make the climb).

"Spread out," Conan said. "If any of you find anything, give us a shout."

And so they split up.

Nothing here but logs, Genta thought as he searched the far corner.

Suddenly, a man came from behind, grabbed him, and slung the boy over his shoulder like a sack of flour.

"AH! WHAT'RE YOU DOING LEMME GO!" Genta said.

Instead, the man ran for the fence. He began to scale it, which he accomplished effortlessly in spite of Genta's added weight.

Conan and his friends came running just fast enough to see the man make off with Genta in tow.

From outside the fenced in yard, Dr. Agasa began to run after them, but after about ten seconds of running he was out of breath and had to stop.

The man ran towards a nearby abandoned building. And of course Conan, Nancy, Shiro and Mitsuhiko scaled the fence to pursue Genta's apparent kidnapper.

 **Scene Transition**

The back door to the building was unlocked and cracked open. They pushed it wide open and stepped inside.

The building had no lights on. It would've been pitch black if not for several windows.

"There he is!" Mitsuhiko pointed out.

The man stood on the staircase.

And with that, the man ran up. Conan and friends ran up as well.

"You're not getting away," Conan muttered.

The man ran inside a room and slammed the door behind him.

Conan went up to the door and kicked it open.

"You're here!" Ayumi said.

Genta was seated on the next to Ayumi, a confused look on his face as Ayumi stood and ran to her friends. Genta's kidnapper did nothing to stop Ayumi from doing so.

"I'm confused," Conan said.

"You're not the only one," Dr. Agasa said.

Ayumi bowed politely. "We are very, very sorry that this was necessary. But we need you to listen to us, because if you don't, more people are going to die."


	2. Chapter 2

_Her alarm clock woke her up._

 _The sound was rather obnoxious, and it didn't set a good mood for the day. But Ayumi brushed aside such concerns. She had been looking forward to this day; she'd lost touch with a few of her friends over summer break, and to be honest having that much free time on her hands had been getting to be a little boring. Granted, there were some highlights, such as the trip to the Ogasawara Islands, from which she and her friends had returned home five weeks ago. And of course, two weeks ago there was the stolen money that they'd uncovered at the park. The day after that, Conan had been beaten up by the robbers by whom the money had been stolen in the first place. That was the kind of excitement she would rather do without. And so, today marked a much welcome change in her routine. She knew that before too long she'd long for winter break, so she might as well enjoy the coming days while they lasted._

 _She got ready, grabbed her backpack, and headed out the door._

 **Scene Transition**

 _It was lunch period now._

 _"Heeehh?!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed. "You're going to bust the Southpaws tonight?"_

 _"Not so loud, will ya?" Conan said._

 _"I hope you teach those guys a lesson for what they did to you, Conan," Genta declared._

 _"Baka, it's got nothing to do with revenge," Conan said. "As criminals, they saw me as a means to an end. There's no reason why I should hold a personal grudge for that. Anyhow, when detectives or officers of the law start bringing emotional baggage to their jobs, it's bad for everyone."_

 _"I wouldn't necessarily agree with that," Haibara said. "Small amounts of arousal can make us feel as though we act with purpose, which is always good for productivity. A slow, simmering grudge can be quite useful for that kind of work, though only after the officer or detective has passed through the initial stage of shock, grief and rage."_

 _"What's with you today?" Conan asked. "You trying to encourage children to take revenge?"_

 _"I don't see why not," Haibara said. "Anger and aggression are as natural and as human as anything else we can feel. And there is a time and a place for such impulses. What matters is that we experience these things in a constructive, not destructive, way. If nobody ever retaliated for anything, people would have less reason not to treat each other as doormats. Sometimes 'because it's wrong' just isn't enough to keep people from doing something, as you, tantei-san, should be well-aware of by now. The kid who turns and attacks his bullies won't be messed with again, as long as he's willing to stand his ground every time. And anger can be what motivates him to throw away his short-term interests in what grants him long-term security, am I wrong?"_

 _"No," Conan fired back. "People ought to learn to put their trust in the system to protect and vindicate them."_

 _While this dialogue played itself out, Ayumi finished off her meal and stood up to put away her dirty tray._

 _"Ah, Ayumi-chan!"_

 _Maria Higashio came running._

 _"Hey Maria!" Ayumi said. "What have you been doing all summer break?"_

 _"Actually, I wanted to tell you about that now," Maria said. "It looks like we still have a few minutes left to talk. Let's sit down somewhere quiet."_

 **Scene Transition**

 _"Triskelion?" Ayumi repeated._

 _"It's a game that you can download onto your phone for free," Maria said. "You can pick your class, and earn points and level up. You can battle monsters and other players that you encounter on the street, or anywhere else that you take your phone to."_

 _"I don't know about all that," Ayumi said. "It doesn't sound like my thing."_

 _"At least promise me that you'll give it a try," Maria said. "It didn't sound too interesting at first to me either, but I learned to love it. You promise?"_

 _Ayumi sighed. "Alright. After school today I'll try it out. I promise."_

 **Scene Transition**

 _"Tadaima."_

 _Without waiting for a response, Ayumi headed straight to her room, to do what she said she was going to do. To download the game, play it a little while, confirm that she didn't like it, and then have a valid excuse to drop the matter entirely._

 _She typed in the name of the app:_

 _Triskelion_

 _She clicked on the one result: sure enough, it was a fantasy-genre mobile app game. It didn't seem like it'd take up a whole lot of data on her phone, so she clicked "Download"._

 _It took about three minutes to complete._

 _She opened the app. On her screen appeared the image of a stone wall, serving as the backdrop for an on-screen pop-up, which read:_

 _"Welcome. This is an automated message from the Admin and creator of this free-to-play game, Triskelion. You may call me Peniwaisu the Elder. With the app you just downloaded comes a direct hotline to my game account. If at any time you have a question or need help with something, feel free to send me a private message. I'd be more than happy to take the time to hear your thoughts and concerns on this game."_

 _Umm...okay? Ayumi thought._

 _"This app requires internet access at all times to play. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is. Now, before you can get started playing, there's another crucial step."_

 _And with that, a file appeared._

 _"Click this file to enable GPS, GLONASS, and Goggle Maps on your phone and to configure these apps for this game. It'll take up a hefty amount of data but you can delete the game at any time."_

 _Ayumi clicked on the file._

 _"This download may take up to an hour. DO NOT turn your phone off during the download. You should plug it into an outlet while you're waiting just to be safe."_

 _Sheesh, all this for a stupid game? Ayumi thought._

 _She went downstairs, fetched herself a snack, and came back up. When she did, she found that it was still downloading._

 _After a few seconds of thinking it over, she decided that she wasn't about to stare at a frozen screen for an hour._

 _So she took the phone with her downstairs and started up the TV._

 _Ten minutes into the oni woman in the tiger striped bikini pestering and tormenting the lecherous teenage boy with lightning bolts and the same annoying catchphrases over and over again, she looked back at her phone._

 _"Ah! It's finished!" she said._

 _She turned the TV off and ran back upstairs._

 _The word "Triskelion" was emblazoned on the title card in big bold letters. Ayumi clicked "New Game"._

 _"Hello. Let's get you started playing, shall we? First of all, how did you learn about this game?"_

 _-By Accident_

 _-A friend told me about it_

 _Ayumi clicked the latter option._

 _"What's the name of your friend?"_

 _She put down Maria Higashio and then clicked "Continue"._

 _"Your friend, if a player of this game, will be rewarded with points. What is your username?"_

 _She gave it a moment's thought, and then put down:_

 _shounentanteichan_

 _"Now, pick your class."_

 _She reviewed the options:_

 _Warrior, Mercenary, Berserker, Martial Artist, Archer, Slinger, Mage, Cleric, Assassin, and Sniper._

 _She read the class descriptions:_

 _"A warrior attacks with a sword. A sword has less range than a spear but it attacks faster than a spear."_

 _"A mercenary attacks with a spear. A spear attacks slower, but it has greater range."_

 _"A berserker attacks with an axe. An axe has less range than a sword or a spear, but it can attack more times in a shorter time."_

 _"A martial artist doesn't need a weapon. He deals less damage, and his range is same as an axe, but he can stop attacks while also dealing damage to the enemy."_

 _"An archer has greater range and power than a slinger, but he cannot attack while moving."_

 _"A slinger can attack while moving, but he has less range and power than an archer."_

 _"A magician is a long-range attacker, like slingers and archers. He can attack through walls and large obstacles, but he attacks slower."_

 _"A cleric can't fight very well, but he can use magic to help his allies during and outside of battle."_

 _"An assassin is a short-range attacker, like the warrior, mercenary, can get within combat range of an opponent without being detected, allowing you to get in a first blow. He is also immune to snipers, as long as he doesn't expose himself through attacking. However, he can't afford to take a lot of damage. His health bar is the lowest of any class."_

 _"A sniper can attack players from a very long range. However, he cannot move while attacking, and it takes a long time for his weapon to load. Also, his attacks can be spotted and avoided easier."_

 _Ayumi mulled over it, and decided to go with Assassin._

 _"Are you male or female?"_

 _Ayumi clicked female._

 _Cool! she thought, getting the first look at her avatar's appearance. I get to play as a Kunoichi!_

(Author's Note: A kunoichi is a female ninja.)

 _"You're just about ready to begin playing. But first, a brief tutorial."_

 **Scene Transition**

 _"I'm going out for a while!"_

 _"Huh? Where to?"_

 _"Just taking a walk."_

 _"Be back before supper."_

 _Ayumi opened the door and stepped outside._

 _According to the tutorial, she didn't move around a simulated environment by pushing buttons on a screen. Rather, the city of Tokyo was the environment in which her avatar moved operated. Her phone was being tracked by GPS; her character went wherever in the city her phone was._

 _In the game there were four factions: The Army of Prudentia, The Army of Fortitudo, The Army of Temperantia, The Army of Justitia. Ayumi had been automatically assigned as a member of Prudentia._

 _"Hi."_

 _Hmm? she thought. Is this another pop-up?_

 _Nope. In fact, it was a live text message from the game's mod, Peniwaisu the Elder._

 _She responded: "You're a real person speaking?"_

 _A few seconds later, he responded: "Yup, I'm a real person. Do you know what to do next?"_

 _"No, not really," she wrote. "I just walk around and battle players and monsters, right?"_

 _"I wouldn't advise doing that just yet. Look on your map. Do you see how, two miles from your present location, there's a Prudentia base?"_

 _"I see it."_

 _"If you go there, you can connect with fellow, more experienced players. There are several of them gathered there right now."_

 _"There's something I'm curious about," Ayumi wrote. "In the tutorial, it said I can level up by finding stickers with the Triskelion symbol?"_

 _"Yes, by scanning them with your phone. But if someone else has already scanned it first, it won't do anything. Don't worry though, there's a lot of stickers in your general area that nobody's found yet. And the game should alert you when there's one nearby. They're called emblems, by the way."_

 _A few seconds later, he sent her another text:_

 _"How old are you?"_

 _"I'm 8."_

 _"Ah. Okay. There are some other players your age on your side. You should try meeting with them."_

 _"Is Maria-chan with my team?"_

 _"Yes, since she introduced you to this game. You can grow your team by introducing new people to the game. And you can get points that way too. Well, if you need anything else, just send me another text. Good luck, and have fun."_

 **Scene Transition**

 _The base turned out to be a library. Ayumi walked in._

 _She found a group of kids and teens gathered. Among them was Maria. And with that, Ayumi knew she was in the right place._

 _"So, you actually gave it a try?" Maria noted._

 _Ayumi nodded. "So far, it all seems pretty exciting, so thanks for letting me in on this."_

 _"So did you take damage?"_

 _"Huh?"_

 _"There's a sniper nesting somewhere outside; he's with Fortitudo, I think. You_ _haven't taken any damage from him or nothing?"_

 _Ayumi shook her head. "It must be because I'm an Assassin. They don't have to battle if they don't want to, right?"_

 _"Right, but that's conditional. Certain magical items can players spot Assassins. On occasion, even some monsters are equipped with that."_

 _"*ahem* Can we please get back to business, Maria?" an older boy said impatiently._

 _"Hmm? Did I interrupt something?" Ayumi asked._

 _"Ah, right," Maria said. "Ayumi, meet Shinobu. He's one of six members of the Knights of the White Chrysanthemum, the best players on our side."_

 _Indeed: Shinobu, Maria and five other players, all of them in their teens (with one member looking even older than that), were seated in couches and chairs surrounding a wooden reading/coffee table._

 _"Your report, please?" The player who might've been an adult asked._

 _"H-Hai!" Maria said, suddenly getting very serious. "Justitia's began encroaching on Temperantia's and Fortitudo's turf looking for emblems. That's what my sources tell me."_

 _"Justitia's growing too powerful, if you ask me," one of the six said._

 _"Yes," another said. "I think we should bury the hatchet with Fortitudo and team up with them for the time being," another said._

 _"But if we do this, we'll at least expect something in return for our help, right? Surely we won't work for free."_

 _"We'll send those Justitian scum running home with their tails between their legs, and gain a bit of exp. in the process. Isn't that enough?"_

 _S-Scum? Ayumi thought, a bit shocked at how serious these people were taking this._

 _"In any case, we cannot afford to let the balance of power be disrupted."_

 _"But does it really matter? They can't really get a whole lot of exp. from beating up Temperantian and Fortitudan players. And according to our sources, they haven't even depleted all the emblems in their own territory. Isn't that right, Maria?"_

 _Maria nodded. "Yes, that's what they've reported to me."_

 _"See? And I doubt they'd do much better at seeking out hidden emblems on somebody else's home turf than the team that's already been embedded in that area, so I don't think we really have a lot to worry about."_

 _"Shame on you. The day we become complacent is the day Prudentia becomes a second-rate team."_

 _Maria whispered in Ayumi's ear: You should probably just leave right now and go hunting for enemies and emblems."_

 _Ayumi nodded._

 **Scene Transition**

 _"Aww, you could've let us help," Mitsuhiko said._

 _Conan grinned, cocky. "There was no need. Like usual, I had everything handled."_

 _"My, how heroic of you, almost getting Officer Takagi killed," Haibara said._

 _"Lay off, will you? I knew they wouldn't get a chance to hurt either of us. Not with our friends in high places waiting."_

 _Come to think of it, that woman left me with what I'd assume is one of her colleagues, that teacher woman, last night around that same time, Shiro thought. So he has the FBI at his beck and call. Very interesting._

 _"Hey guys, you can go on without me," Ayumi said._

 _"Huh?!" Nancy said. "Ayumi-chan, you don't want to watch the Professor use a blow dryer to cook?"_

 _"No thanks, I think I'll pass today. Well, bye!"_

 _Ayumi turned the other way and ran off._

 _That's right, I have no time for that silly stuff, she thought. I'm going to become a top-notch player. Just you wait!_

 _When she left the library the previous day, she decided to test out her skills. She headed straight towards Justitia's territory. She found a player in a busy crowd, went up close, took a strike at him, and ran before he could spot her. She did this to four people over the span of an hour, and gained a fair bit of exp in the process, since the players she was targeting were higher in level than her. Finally, on another part of town she had found a fenced-in parking space where a lot of players from different teams were gathered._

 _Those players were gathered around in a wide circle to watch. In the middle of the circle, two players from rival teams were going at each other._ _One was a Slinger; the other was a Berserker._

 _It was almost like they were playing tag or something. The slinger player ran around, facing but at the same time trying to keep a healthy distance from the berserker player, who was trying to get close to him. Both players were about the same age, 10 or 11, and of about the same physical size. The berserker player was constantly glancing at his phone; in fact, both players had their phones pointed at the other player, as though they were sharp knives or something._

 _The berserker would look at his phone, then suddenly jump to the side and then lunge at the slinger, who'd then turn around and make a run for it. Of course, he was boxed in by the stadium (the fenced in parking lot) where they fought, so he could only run around that same area to keep his distance from the berserker. Unfortunately for the berserker, the slinger then began pointing his phone behind him as he ran away. The berserker, just a little bit of health left, began running at him not in a straight line but in a curving, winding path that allowed him to dodge the sling projectiles which, according to his phone at least, was coming his way. He managed to get a few clean hits in, by virtue of his phone being sufficiently close to that of his opponent, but then finally the slinger turned around, pointed the phone straight at him from point blank range, and tapped the button. The projectile was too close for the visibly exhausted berserker player to dodge in time, and with that it was game over. Players with Temperantia began cheering._

 _That match was what did it for Ayumi: it wasn't enough for her to simply gain points by hit-and-run encounters. She wanted to fight in battles like that one. She then contacted Peniwaisu and asked if she could change class to Warrior. He agreed, though on the condition that her level and inventory would be reset. Since she'd hardly really gotten anywhere anyways, she was okay with that. She also asked him to change her username. Her new name was something she'd read about in a children's encyclopedia one time: Baukari, the closest katakana rendering to Valkyrie._

 _Today, she was going to face opponents head-on and beat them fair and square. She would become one of Prudentia's best players, a member of the Knights of the White Chrysanthemum._

 **Scene Transition**

 _"I'm going to the library."_

 _"Alright."_

 _It had been a week since she started playing. The player "Valkyrie" was only level 9, which put her roughly in the 50th percentile. However, what set her apart from from her peers was the rapid speed at which she'd gotten to that level. The game Triskelion had been up and running for about three months now; after all that time, there were only twenty truly elite players, of about 450 players total. And Ayumi seemed to be on her way towards becoming the twenty first._

 _To accomplish this, Ayumi invested enormous sums of time and energy battling players and monsters, and scouring remote nooks and crannies for rare emblems. Peniwaisu had been a tremendous help; apparently happy to see a new player as dedicated to the game as she was, he'd been in near constant touch with her via text message. Thanks to him, she'd already found an emblem that awarded her with a legendary equippable item, the Ring of the Nibelung. Given that the ring was a reference to Norse mythology, she suspected that he might've created the item specifically for her. After plugging in a pair of earbuds into her phone, the Ring actually allowed her to hear the sounds of monsters and enemy players' weapons, and be given information such as the distance nearby enemies were from her location. This made it much easier to win battles, since she could dodge attacks without having to keep a constant eye on the display on her phone. She could simply hear and respond in real time._

 _Granted, the Ring took a ton of getting used to. It was almost like learning how to ride a bicycle all over again. But once she got the hang of it, it basically allowed her to see with her ears. She could only compare it to that thing she heard about on the nature documentary: what was it called again? Oh yes, echolocation. It was a sort of audible mathematical language of aptly timed sounds in either or both ears, and she soon learned to understand it like a native speaker, through many strenuous battles, skirmishes and encounters._

 _In such a short time, she felt like a lot had happened, like she herself had changed somehow. And, to be frank, she was quite proud of who she had become. A Warrior, strong and fearless. A Valkyrie._

 _The game did, unfortunately, have the effect of cutting her off from her friends, as she spent her after-school time and weekends honing her skills, hunting for emblems, and leveling up. She'd turned down an offer from Haibara to go visit a petting zoo that'd recently opened in the area. Twice. And now she wasn't going to get to see Haibara for some time, as her exceptionally mature colleague was on a trip to see long-lost family._

 _The Ring let out that strange, low-key "whoop" sound in her earbuds, which indicated there was at least one emblem on the area._

 _To her left was a large outdoor lumber yard. And she spotted a couple boys snooping around on the property._

 _Not to be outdone, she scaled the fence and hopped down onto the other side._

 _Is there an emblem somewhere here? She thought._

 _Then, the boys spotted her, and three of them came running at her._

 _"Says here she's with Prudentia!" one of them said._

 _She sighed, pointed her phone at each of them, and tapped each time. In doing so, she attacked them, and took each of them out with one hit._

 _"Ah dang it!" one of them said._

 _"You idiot! Says here she's level 9! We noobs couldn't hope to win against her!"_

 _She brushed past them nonchalantly._

 _Having just been defeated, those boys knew they wouldn't be able to scan anything for the next 10 hours._

 _"Look up."_

 _Obeying the instructions coming from her earbuds, Ayumi saw it: an emblem, up on top of a tall stack of logs._

 _The boys gathered around to watch as she began to climb it._

 _"Uhh, are you sure that's safe?" one of them called out._

 _"Quiet," Ayumi said._

 _Almost there..._

 _She took out her phone to scan it, and-_

 _*THUD*_

 _The boys made a run for it. As everything went dark, the last thing Ayumi saw was the form of an adult person running toward her..._


	3. Chapter 3

_"Hey kid. Can you hear me? Hello?"_

 _She opened her eyes. Her head was apparently resting on something soft._

 _There was something very cold on her forehead._ _She slowly moved her arm, and took it off. It was a bag of ice._

 _She sat up._

 _Facing her was a man of a slim, muscular build. He looked about 40 or so. He had dirty jet-black hair rolled back into a ponytail, and a scruffy mustache with some stubble on his chin. He wore a "Cubs" baseball cap, blue jeans, and a red plaid shirt. His shirt was long-sleeved, and it looked like it was made from some kind of thick, fuzzy material. In American terms, he looked sort of like a beer-loving redneck who loved to go hunting and fishing. Not too terribly different from Kogoro in that respect._

 _The man held up three fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"_

 _"Who are you?" Ayumi asked._

 _"Good, you can talk. So I guess that means you're not brain damaged."_

 _Ayumi was silent._

 _"Do you remember what happened?"_

 _"...Yeah, the logs slipped. I fell and hit my head."_

 _"You're very lucky, you know. One of those pieces of lumber could've broken something very easily. How's your legs? Can you stand up?"_

 _Ayumi stood up._

 _"Good. I guess you're alright then."_

 _Ayumi looked around. She was clearly inside. The room they were in was decrepit, and filthy, and the floor was littered with random junk._

 _It really stinks in here, she thought._

 _"This place is right next to the lumber yard where you fell. Nobody lives here but me; I figure it was abandoned by its owners during the great financial crisis of the 90s. I was out getting some fresh air when it happened. That's how I was able to spotcha there. I guess I probably should've called an ambulance, but I don't have a phone, and anyhow that might've had the police combing the area and whatnot, and that's the last thing I want believe me. The name's Shigeo, by the way. Shigeo Yasuda."_

 _He extended his hand, and Ayumi obliged the man who may or may not have saved her life. "I'm Ayumi. Ayumi Yoshida."_

 _"Nice to meet you, Ayumi. I've told you my excuse, now tell me yours: What were you doing on private property?"_

 **Scene Transition**

 _"...You almost got yourself killed to earn points in a video game?" Yasuda asked, a bit incredulously. "What's the game called, Blue Whale?"_

 _"Uh, no, it's called Triskelion," Ayumi said._

 _"Triskelion. You know, I think I may know something about that. About 6 days ago some guy barged in here and put a sticker, with that word displayed on it, on the bathroom mirror other home over."_

 _Two seconds later, he had found it necessary to grab hold of Ayumi to restrain her. "You can't go in there!"_

 _"Why not?!"_

 _"The bathroom floor's rotted out since then. You'll fall down to the first floor if you try."_

 _Ayumi stopped, and he let go of her._

 _"Listen, kid, about these stickers. Where do you normally find them?"_

 _"Well, they're hidden all over Tokyo, in places like this."_

 _"Derelict crumbling buildings?"_

 _"Sometimes, yeah. But also underneath the tables in restaurants, on the outer walls of buildings, on the back of cars..."_

 _"And you put your phone up to these stickers to scan them?"_

 _"Yes. And they're called emblems, by the way."_

 _Yasuda sighed. "Whoever made this game is nuts. Next thing I know, you'll be telling me that he puts these stickers in the middle of busy roads."_

 _"Uh, no, as far as I know that hasn't happened," Ayumi said. "I know him, Peniwaisu. He wouldn't try to hurt someone."_

 _"Uh-huh. How do you know him?"_

 _"He's the Mod, so we talk over text message alot, when I have questions about the game."_

 _"Well, next time you text him, tell him that you almost died because of some of the stupid places he puts those sticker...emblems, on."_

 _"And I'm sure that once I tell him, he'll be more careful not to do it again," she said. "So uh, you live here?"_

 _"Yup. Either I crash here or some place else, or I'm homeless."_

 _"You're poor?"_

 _"Well, that's usually what happens when you don't have a job, kid. Of course, you probably won't have to worry about that for a while, but...Honestly, though, this isn't so bad. Right now, I'm a free man. I can do anything I want, have anything I want, provided I have good luck in my raids."_

 _"Your raids?"_

 _"Garbage raids," Yasuda explained. "This city, Tokyo, has a population of about 10-15 million people. And its residents are wealthy compared to most of the world. That means they produce an immeasurably large amount of garbage on a daily basis. Of course, a lot of that is recycled, but then again a lot of it can't be, and as a result is simply dumped into giant landfills, where it just sits there in massive piles. Just think about it: one can find just about anything he wants in a heap of garbage that big, if he searches long enough."_

 _"That's disgusting!" Ayumi said._

 _"Is it? Do people only throw away stuff that's unfit for human use? Don't people often throw clothes that has a slight tear in it, or which their grown-up children who moved out of the house left behind? Don't they often throw away clothes in sealed trash bags? If that's the case, isn't it perfectly suitable to wear?"_

 _"You mean you wear clothes other people throw away?!"_

 _"Not just clothes, kid. Here, take a look at this."_

 _He undid the top of a tenugui cloth which was wrapped around something small, purple and rectangular._

 _"Isn't that a-_

 _"Yeah, a GameLad Color, an old handheld. Kind of like how you play games on your phone, but before smart phones were invented. Somebody threw it away; that person must've been pretty dumb, because you can make a lot of money selling one of these online. It still works just fine, and I even found some batteries with juice in them. Also, you see those nice curtains up above the window? Thrown away as well."_

 _"That's kind of amazing," Ayumi said._

 _"Isn't it? This city provides my every want and need, and all I have to do is go rummaging through people's garbage," Yasuda said. "Normally I stage my raids late at night, since what I do is technically against the law. Can I ask you a question?"_

 _"Sure."_

 _"From everything you've told me, it'd seem you're the kind who readily invades dark, maybe dangerous places to get ahead in that game of yours. Why? Why's it so important to you."_

 _Ayumi took a deep breath, and then blurted out:_

 _"Because I'm tired! I'm tired of being the person with nothing to offer, that girl who just gets scared and cries why my friends are solving tough mysteries! Is that so wrong? To want to change? I just thought, if I could become the best at this game, better than anyone, I wouldn't be the crybaby anymore. I would be...I would be...!"_

 _"Extraordinary? Is that the word you're looking for?"_

 _After a second's thought Ayumi nodded. "Yeah. I want to be extraordinary, like my best friends are. Maybe, if I was friends with regular people, I wouldn't feel so bad, about not being that kind of person."_

 _"These friends, you really think that highly of them?"_

 _"Why wouldn't I? Conan-kun's solved more criminal cases than I can count! Ai-chan's everything that I would want to grow up to be like. Nancy-chan's also a lot smarter than a kid should be. They're all like grown-ups, and that makes me the little kid."_

 _"But in this game," she continued, "I can fight players who are older than me, grown-ups even, and win. I can do anything they can do, and beat them at it. When I'm playing this game, I'm not plain-old Ayumi-chan anymore. I'm something greater than th-_

 _"BWAHAHAHAHA!"_

 _Ayumi was incensed. "Are you laughing at me?! Really? After I just told you my feelings?!"_

 _"Sorry, but it's just so laughable," Yasuda said. "You're deriving your sense of self-worth from a stupid video game. You think that leveling up or whatever will make you extraordinary? You just don't get it, do you?"_

 _"That's it, I'm leaving."_

 _Ayumi checked her pocket._

 _"HEEEEHH?!" she said. "Where's my phone?!"_

 _"Dunno, you didn't have one on you when I freed you from that woodpile. Maybe you dropped it back there or something?"_

 _"Must be. I'm going now, so, uh, thank you for saving me."_

 _"Hey, wait. You're gonna keep on playing that game, right?"_

 _"Yeah. I don't see why not."_

 _"Fair enough, I guess. But listen, when you go outside tomorrow you should wear something warm."_

 _"Huh? Why's that?"_

 _"Cause it's gonna be chilly tomorrow. Might even snow."_

 _"Impossible! It's too early to snow!"_

 _"You'll find out all about it tomorrow, I'm betting. So wear something, for Pete's sake. Oh, I know. Wait just a second."_

 _A minute later, he was holding a scarf and a pair of mitts. "Take these."_

 _"Ew! I'm not going to wear something you took out of a dump!"_

 _"Look, just take 'em. If tomorrow morning it turns out I'm wrong about what the weather's gonna look like, you can throw them away for all I care."_

 _Ayumi hesitated._

 **Scene Transition**

 **The Next Day**

 _They left Teitan as a group._

 _Nancy shivered. "If I'd have known it'd be like this, I would've put on a little more to wear."_

 _Conan looked up. "It's a little too early in the year for snow, isn't it?"_

 _"Ah, I know!" Genta said. "The snow's part of that global warming grownups on the news are always talking about!"_

 _"Genta," Conan said with an exasperated sigh._

 _"Ah, Ayumi-chan!" Mitsuhiko said. "You must be some kind of psychic or something!"_

 _"Huh?"_

 _"Yeah, come to think of it, today was the first day this season that it's been so cold," Shiro said. "How'd you know to leave your home with a scarf and mitts?"_

 _"Well, actually, I got these recently and I just wanted to show them off at school," Ayumi said._

 _"Heeehh?" Conan said. "You went shopping for winter clothes this time of year?"_

 _"W-well no, not exactly," Ayumi stammered, blushing._

 _"Hmm, come to think of it, that scarf looks like it's got some stains all over," Shiro said. "And from different stuff; I'd say that somebody'd already been using it for a while before you got it. Did you get those at a garage sale? Or maybe it's a hand-me-down from an older brother or sister?"_

 _"Uh, no, Ayumi-chan's an only child," Mitsuhiko said._

 _One thought kept playing on repeat in Ayumi's head:_

 _How could he know that?_

 **Scene Transition**

 _She walked into the library and headed to the usual section, where they were gathered around. Maria was sure to be there, if today was like any other day._

 _"To date, Justitia's cleared out Shinjuku of any opposition. Fearing for their safety, a lot of players in that area have deleted the Triskelion app from their phones."_

 _"You heard that from Maria-chan?"_

 _"Uh, no, I have a friend who lives in Shinjuku. He's with Fortitudo, and he tells me that the players who remain in that area are scared to leave their homes."_

 _"Even without their phones?"_

 _"Yeah, because they're afraid of being recognized as players and being threatened physically. Fortitudo's almost on the verge of collapse."_

 _"Our lines are spread too thin. While we've been protecting Temperantia and our own turf, Justitia's only gaining on us. And what has Prudentia gotten in return for its services? One guy encountering a minotaur on Temperantia's turf, and he got beat trying to take it on. Our so-called allies got the kill, and they didn't even give us the item it dropped."_

 _"As I've said before, we should've just taken Temperantia. Their resources could allow us to keep up with Justitia."_

 _"No! We made an agreement with the Temperantian leadership, and I for one was taught to never go back on my word. Guys?"_

 _"Hmm, yeah, but..."_

 _"Ah, Ayumi-chan!"_

 _Ayumi waved to them. "Uh, is Maria-chan here?"_

 _"No. We haven't seen her since yesterday. You and her attend the same school, right?"_

 _"Yeah, but she was absent today," Ayumi said. "That's why I came: I was hoping she might be here."_

 _"Well, sorry to disappoint."_

 _"Oh, I got it! Why don't you message Peniwaisu? I'm sure he'll know where she is."_

 **Scene Transition**

 _Her fingers trembling, she clicked "Send"._

 _She had remained apprehensive of Peniwaisu ever since the log incident yesterday._ _Though she knew it was probably just an unlucky coincidence, she couldn't help but think:_

 _What if the man known as Peniwaisu the Elder had designed this game as a way to hurt people?_

 _A few seconds later, a response from the Mod:_

 _"I heard about the incident yesterday, and I'm so sorry that I was stupid enough to put an emblem in a place like that, not thinking of the risks involved. Are you okay?"_

 _She swallowed, and replied:_

 _"Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry about it. It seems nobody knows where Maria is. Can you tell me?"_

 _His response:_

 _"Yeah, sure. I can make her phone's GPS coordinates appear on your map."_

 _About five minutes later, a blip indicating Maria's location appeared._

 _She typed in: "Thank you. I'll go look for her now."_

 _His response: "No problem. I hope she's alright."_

 _Ayumi ran out of the library._

 _That persistent and annoying Fortitudan sniper began making rounds at her from afar. She eloquently dodged the incoming shots without having to look at her phone through the Ring's audial sensory information._

 _As she turned a corner, she was going so fast that she slipped and slid on the wet, snow-ridden pavement. She just got back up and kept running._

 _Just then, her phone started ringing. It was Mitsuhiko._

 _I have no time for this, she thought, and she just let it ring until it stopped._

 **Scene Transition**

 _This is the place, she thought, looking at the map. Maria-chan should be...inside that house, I think._

 _Something about the building gave her the creeps._

 _Not letting such unfounded paranoia stop her, she pulled up on the latch to the metal gate and pushed it open._

 _She stepped onto the poorly maintained lawn and closed the gate behind her._

 _She didn't notice the two kennels as she ran up to the raised porch and tried the front door._

 _It was locked._

 _On the door was a small window, covered by a vinyl blind. Someone on the other side pushed pulled on it, and it went up, allowing the two of them to look at each other._

 _It was an unidentifiable figure in a yellow poncho, a flu mask, and sunglasses. He/she looked down at his/her phone and began typing something._

 _Ayumi received a message. It was from Peniwaisu:_

 _"As I said before, what happened yesterday was unfortunate. It would've been a real tragedy had you died."_

 _Ayumi replied:_

 _"Peniwaisu, is that you? Is Maria-chan in there? Open the door please."_

 _But instead, Peniwaisu replied:_

 _"When I first designed this game, I was doubtful that it'd be such a spectacular success, but the results speak for themselves: children have gotten into fatal accidents left and right. They ran out into high-speed traffic roads to escape monsters that their phones said were chasing them. They've even climbed up telephone poles in their rush to claim the emblem I placed up there, and they were promptly electrocuted. And in all this, the police have not yet come to realize that something so benign and insignificant as a video game was responsible for all this."_

 _Before Ayumi had to time to process the horrifying revelation, Peniwaisu sent her yet another text:_

 _"Yet despite all that, I haven't really been happy. I've heard all about the deaths, about the sudden disappearances of children who met their ends in remote corners of the city. But I've never witnessed it for myself. Not even once. And you know, I really, really want to. So congrats. You've been chosen to die here today for my amusement. Sayonara, Ayumi-chan."_

 _Ayumi made a run for the gate. Peniwaisu lowered his/her flu mask and blew into a dog whistle._

 _Immediately, two Pit Bulls were woken from their slumber. They came running out of their kennel and went up to Ayumi. They were famished, having not been fed for several days. But for the moment, at least, they were confused as to whether Ayumi was about to feed them or if she herself was the meal._

 _Ayumi was so terrified that she dropped her phone. She took a step back, and her breathing and heart rate became erratic. The dogs slowly advanced on the frightened girl._

 _"NO! PLEASE! NO!" she shrieked. "SOMEBODY HEEELLP!"_

 _The dogs pounced._

 _Ayumi closed her eyes instinctively and shielded her face._

 _But instead of her body being torn to pieces, the dogs were repelled by something._

 _Ayumi opened her eyes. Yasuda, wielding a wooden bat, stood in front of her. He had used the bat's blunt force to knock the dogs backwards._

 _Before Ayumi could do anything, he lifted her up and put her on his shoulders, and then ran for the fence. He set her down on top of it._

 _Then he jumped up onto the fence and his feet hit the ground on the other side, off of the property with the dogs. Then he picked her up again and gently set her down._

 _"Alright, now we're gonna havta run for the hills," he said. "Follow me."_

 **Scene Transition**

 _He slammed the door behind him and locked it._

 _"Why didn't...we just go home?" Ayumi asked, panting._

 _"But doesn't that...person know where you live?" Yasuda countered, also panting hard. "Do you really...want to put your family in...danger?"_

 _"Okay, but how about the police station then?" she said._

 _"You really think they would believe you? Even with me backing you up, it's a pretty farfetched story. And did you ever even get a good look at him?"_

 _Ayumi shook her head. "His face was covered with a mask and stuff."_

 _"If he was cautious enough to conceal his identity even when he must've reasonably confident that you wouldn't live to tell the tale anyway, and if he's tech-savvy enough to create the software for a game like this, then surely he's both cautious and smart enough to make his digital footprint untraceable. There's probably no way that the local police could find this guy. The most they could do, assuming they actually did believe you, is shut down the game. Even if they did catch him, without the phone that you dropped back there there's probably no conclusive evidence that he created the game with malicious intent. In the face of this, he'd most likely just lay low for a while and then create another death game like this one. Even if the police searched that house, I highly doubt that this guy, as careful as he is, would actually turn his own residence as a crime scene, or that he really left any evidence that leads back to him. No, the only way to beat this guy is to lure him out into the open. The fact that he showed up for your murder is proof that this can be accomplished."_

 _"Anyhow," Yasuda continued, "_ _He shouldn't be able to find us here. You dropped your phone back there, so he can't track us by GPS."_

 _"But he saw your face, right? And he did come here a while back."_

 _"Yeah, but he didn't even catch a glimpse of me then. It should be fine."_

 _"FINE?!" Ayumi exploded, her eyes welling up. "What part about this is fine?!"_

 _"Whoops, I guess I shouldn't have said that," Yasuda said. "What I should've said is, we should be safe for the time being. And if he does come here, then I should be able to pin him down and put an end to this sicko."_

 _"Don't say that! I don't want him coming anywhere near here!"_

 _"Fair enough. So, what're ya gonna do next? If you can't go home, and you can't show your face out in public, then do you wanna stay here for the night?"_

 _Ayumi nodded, not seeing what other choice she had._

 _"Good choice. This way, we'll have plenty of time to contemplate our next move."_

 _"To catch a serial killer."_

 **Scene Transition**

 _It was decided. The two of them would stay together at all times, so that the serial killer couldn't get to Ayumi. His immediate priority would probably be to hunt her down, since she knew way too much. They would, thus, create a situation where the serial killer had to show himself once again to get to her. To come up with the perfect plan, however, they soon became convinced that it'd probably be a good idea to recruit Ayumi's closest friends first, especially Conan Edogawa, who had an otherworldly knack for solving crimes._

 _Once Ayumi had been missing for a sufficient length of time, that would draw the Detective Boys looking for her. Their investigation would eventually lead them to the lumber yard. From there, they would be approached and taken to the building Ayumi and Yasuda were in presently, the abandoned apartment complex, which was close by the lumber yard. When they were all reunited, then they could get down to business. Ayumi estimated it would take a day or two for this part of their strategy to play itself out. Until then, she'd just have to make due inside this depressing place, with Yasuda as her companion and bodyguard, surrounded by weird random items that Yasuda had salvaged from Tokyo's garbage._

 _Besides the old handheld video games, one thing that Yasuda kept to pass the time was books. Lots of books. However, because Yasuda would not permit her to turn a light switch on, they ended up sitting on opposite sides facing a flashlight which shone up at the ceiling. Yasuda used a pencil to fill out a crossword puzzle, whereas Ayumi read a Japanese translation of "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen._

 _Eventually, they got bored of reading quietly, and started talking about random stuff._

 _"Shiranpuri?"_

 _"Yeah, that confused the heck out of us at the time too. But it worked. The killer was the blond man, and 'Shiranpuri' proved that he couldn't understand English, because he was the only one who didn't sit down.'_

 _"Hmm, I guess that's because Shiranpuri sounds like the English for 'sit down please'. But this friend of yours, he was really able to solve the case like that?"_

 _"I'm telling you, I was there!" Ayumi insisted. "I saw it for myself! And of course, that wasn't the only time."_

 _"...I can see now, how you'd feel pressured, to try and be more than just a kid," Yasuda said. "Extraordinary people...perhaps the most awesome thing that they can do is to inspire those around them. I believe that, at one time or another, every person has been extraordinary. A hero, even. If only we can remember that, maybe we'll be moved beyond our normal comfort zones, and live every day for the rest of our lives aspiring to be that way again."_

 _"I don't quite know about that," Ayumi said. "I don't remember a single time in my life when I did something heroic."_

 _"Are you sure about that? You don't remember everything that's ever happened to you, right?"_

 _"Well, no, but..."_

 _"There's a lot we don't remember. You think you only have the experiences of a person who's lived eight years, but that isn't necessarily true. Some people experience a lot in a short time, while other people waste huge amounts of time on stuff that they won't even remember doing. So would you concede that some people are mentally older than others?"_

 _"Certainly. Conan-kun's older than any kid his age, in that sense."_

 _"And you, in spending your time with such an eventful person, have experienced a lot too as a result, no?"_

 _Ayumi wasn't sure how to answer._

 _"And if already you've been inspired to change by being around Conan Edogawa, and Ai Haibara, how do you know that you haven't already? You haven't been just an observer in the cases he's solved, I'd presume."_

 _"Well, no, not entirely."_

 _"So will you concede that at times you have been of good help to them?"_

 _"Y-Yeah..." she admitted, finally. "Yeah, I have. Not all the time, but..."_

 _She remembered, sitting in a car with her friends, in the midst of a case that'd struck a little too close to home._ _Haibara warned her not to get out of the car, lest the culprit see her face and seek his revenge against her one day. She decided not to listen, but rather to do what she thought was right. And she didn't understand how, or why, but it seemed to her as though her words and actions had resonated with Haibara, like it related to some situation that Haibara was in at the time._

 _"See? You had an extraordinary moment too, as young as you think you are," Yasuda said. "And you didn't even remember. Multiply that times 7 billion. That's how the world got to be the way it is. Too few people remember that, at one time at least, they were more than just somebody who lived only for themselves."_

 _"Who are you?" Ayumi asked. "You're not like any person I've ever met. How did you get here, living at this dump?"_

 _Yasuda chuckled. "Believe it or not, there was a time when I held a highly respectable, good paying job. I wasn't always a squatter who survived by digging through garbage. You know, I even had a daughter. She was your age, in fact."_

 _"Tell me about her."_

 _"Her name was Akihime. She looked and acted a lot like you, actually. But she...well, she died, for the sins of those people whose job it was to protect her."_

 _"You?"_

 _"No. I had no power. No ability to protect her, not in the way I'm describing. And due to circumstances, it wasn't really my job to do so. It was someone else's job, and they failed miserably. It was disgraceful, how they let her die. She was incinerated, while she was still breathing. A terrible death. The worst. It should've been quick, but it wasn't. It took a full minute or so for her to die. One agonizing minute...But enough about that. You wanna see a picture of her?"_

 _"Yeah."_

 _He removed a locket that was hanging from his neck. He opened it up and gave it to her._

 _She does look like me, Ayumi realized, blushing. But this photo...it's in black and white. It looks like it was taken a really long time ago. And the locker itself looks really old too, like it's rusted somewhat._

 _She gave it back to him. "Thanks for showing me that."_

 _He nodded._

 _"But it seems like you should be able to find work, if you've got enough skill to have had a good paying job."_

 _He sighed. "Look, kid. I haven't taken a bath in who knows how long. I dig through garbage. Nobody's gonna hire a guy like me. At one point I thought I might've had a chance of going into the military, but looking back that would've been impossible: I would've just shot my comrades in the back."_

 _"That's about the craziest thing I've ever heard!" Ayumi protested. "You wouldn't do that, right?"_

 _"I don't think my finger could help itself. It'd just put down on the trigger whether I liked it or not. Now, if I were right handed it probably wouldn't have been a problem."_

 _He looked at his watch, which he'd also lifted from a landfill somewhere. "Would you look at that, it's 8:50. Lights out or no?"_

 _"Well, to be honest I'm a little hungry," Ayumi said._

 _"Do you think you can hold it in 'till tomorrow morning?"_

 _"Yeah, but why then?"_

 _"Right now I'm outta food. I gotta go restock. I'll get enough for both of us for tomorrow."_

 _Ayumi stood up. "You're gonna take food out of a garbage can, aren't you?!"_

 _"Sorry kid, but I don't really see any alternative."_

 _Ayumi reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet. "Go to McRonald's, and buy me something."_

 _"You sure you wanna eat before you go to bed?"_

 _She thought about it for a second: "You're right. Tomorrow morning, go and buy me something."_

 _"And how about lunch and dinner?"_

 _"I don't have that much on me. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."_

 _"Hmph, how snooty of you. Won't eat perfectly good food that people threw out. Alright, but I'm fixing to go out and dig me up something. You sure you don't want anything for lunch tomorrow?"_

 _"No!"_

 _"Fine by me. Just don't sleep out in the open. Sleep in a closet or somewhere like that, and keep the door closed. When I come back, stay hidden until you hear the sound of my voice."_

 _He turned to go._

 _"Hold on," Ayumi said. "What if I have to use the bathroom?"_

 _He sighed. "Can you wait until tomorrow?"_

 _"Why?"_

 _"You can wear a disguise or something and come with me to McRonald's tomorrow morning, and use the bathroom there."_

 _"...Okay, that sounds good to me."_

 _"Alright."_

 **Scene Transition**

Two days had passed since "Peniwaisu the Elder" tried to kill Ayumi. One day has passed in which Ayumi was absent from school. Per their calculations, Ayumi's parents had almost definitely notified the police by this time. And there was virtually no way that Ayumi's friends hadn't started looking into her disappearance yet.

Finally, their patience paid off:

The back door to the building was unlocked and cracked open. They pushed it wide open and stepped inside.

The building had no lights on. It would've been pitch black if not for several windows.

"There he is!" Mitsuhiko pointed out.

The man stood on the staircase.

And with that, the man ran up. Conan and friends ran up as well.

"You're not getting away," Conan muttered.

The man ran inside a room and slammed the door behind him.

Conan went up to the door and kicked it open.

"You're here!" Ayumi said.

Genta was seated on the next to Ayumi, a confused look on his face as Ayumi stood and ran to her friends. Genta's kidnapper did nothing to stop Ayumi from doing so.

"I'm confused," Conan said.

"You're not the only one," Dr. Agasa said.

Ayumi bowed politely. "We are very, very sorry that this was necessary. But we need you to listen to us, because if you don't, more people are going to die."


	4. Chapter 4

"...To sum it up, we need your help to find Peniwaisu and to stop him," Ayumi said.

"This is serious stuff," Dr. Agasa said. "You ran away from home, made your parents worry for your safety."

"I know," Ayumi said. "And I know that when this is all over I'll owe a lot of people an apology."

Shiro looked at Shigeo Yasuda. "You're the one who's been helping her all this time?"

"Yup, " he said. "Probably broke a law or two in the process, but whatever."

"Ayumi's phone contains Peniwaisu's confession to multiple accounts of murder," Conan said.

"But since he presumably has it in his possession, he might've deleted the message by now," Nancy said.

"That shouldn't be an issue, if we can get it back," Conan said. "Like with computers, deleted texts can usually be undeleted by a skilled IT guy. And if not, company that created the model phone that Ayumi uses keeps a backup for text messages on an online cloud storage server, so that a user's text history can be recovered even if their phone's destroyed. If the police request access to those logs from the company as part of their criminal investigation, then they should be able to recover the confession in a fairly short time, provided of course that the police believe us in the first place."

"I don't think he's destroyed the phone," Shiro said. "If this guy's actions are consistent with how Ayumi-chan described him, he'll likely use Ayumi-chan's phone to trap other people. Just like he used Maria to trap her."

"But remember? He didn't use Maria's phone to message Ayumi-chan," Mitsuhiko said.

"Maybe that just means he doesn't have it?" the Professor suggested.

"Right," Conan said. "At this point all we know is that Maria's gone missing, not that she's dead or captured. She could be in hiding, for all we know."

"Well, actually, Peniwaisu lured me to that house by allowing my phone to track Maria's," Ayumi said.

"It could've been a trick though," Genta said. "Like, what if it was his own phone you were tracking, or just the house itself?"

"Ayumi-chan, you left to go find Maria as soon as you saw her supposed location, right?" Conan asked.

She nodded.

"How far away was it from the library?" Conan asked.

"Uh, I was Dunn much of that time, so about ten minutes or less," Ayumi answered.

"Yet in spite of that, he was already at the house by the time you arrived," Shiro said.

"Ah! That must mean his center of operations is no more than ten minutes from the house where he tried to kill her!" Nancy said.

"Ayumi-chan, you said you talked quite a bit via text message with Peniwaisu back when you were a player ," Yasuda saw. "Can be control the game from his phone?"

Ayumi shook her head. "I don't think so. At one point, I asked him to change my class min the game. He said I'd have to wait about an hour, because he was away from his computer."

"So assuming the tracking function was indeed set up from his computer shortly after Ayumi-chan asked, and not before, and assuming that he really can't control the game from a mobile phone, and assuming that he wasn't simply waiting at that house with a laptop for her to text him then that confirms it," Shiro said. "Ayumi-chan, you need to show us exactly where this house is."

 **Scene Transition**

Conan had gone over to a convenience store and bought a map of the city, then returned to the abandoned apartment complex.

"This is a highly dense urban area where the speed limit is normally about 25 miles an hour," Conan said. "Traveling at 25 MPH, Peniwaisu could not have beaten Ayumi-chan to the house unless his base of operations was less than..."

"4.16 miles," Yasuda said. "Give or take."

"Hmm, working with decimals is kind of difficult," Conan said. "But..."

He drew something kind of square-ish. "Peniwaisu's base of operations is probably somewhere within this area."

"But that's still a lot of ground to cover," Dr. Agasa said.

"Isn't there some way to narrow that down?" Mitasuhiko asked.

"You know, we could just check out that house for ourselves and see if we can find any clues," Nancy said. "I'm honestly kind of surprised that I'm the first person to mention that."

 **Scene Transition**

Ayumi, whose whole face was covered up to mask her identity, led her friends to the house where she'd almost died.

"Be careful of the days," Ayumi said as Dr. Agasa pulled up on the latch to the front gate.

In fact, as they walked across the front yard they didn't see any dogs. The two kennels which were there before were now nowhere to be seen.

They tried the front door. It opened.

"Huh? But it was locked then," Ayumi said.

They all entered the house.

It was a reasonably orderly place, but somehow it looked...off.

"Wow, this place hasn't been dusted in a while," Genta said.

"And it looks like mold's growing on the walls," Yasuda said.

"That's a sign that fresh air hasn't been circulating in here," Shiro said. "Aside from Peniwaisu opening the back door to come and go, of course. It seems as though the air conditioner's only very recently been turned on. Because of this, the air gets really moist in the summertime, allowing for mold growth."

"It's as if nobody's lived here in forever," Conan said. "Even though all the lights are on."

"If Peniwaisu were living here, it wouldn't be this poorly maintained," Mitsuhiko said.

"I don't think he's here right now," Conan said. "It's probably safe for us to split up."

"I call me and Shigeo-san," Shiro said.

"No, there's something I need to discuss with him," Conan said. "You and Genta, Mitsuhiko and the Professor, Ayumi-chan and Nancy."

And so, they split up to search the premises.

Conan and Yasuda went up into the attic.

"There's one thing I don't quite get about Ayumi-chan's story," Conan said. "How did you know to be here at the moment when her life was in danger?"

"Simple," Yasuda said. "You know how I told him that Peniwaisu had visited my humble abode before? Well, he put an emblem in one of the bathrooms. I kinda brushed this detail aside, because it really didn't compute to me, but I thought that I heard drilling at the time."

"Drilling?"

"Yeah. And there was an odd smell too. Well, after I learned about that game she almost died playing, I thought back on then, and I think...I think that smell might've been Potassium Nitrate. It's commonly used as stump remover, because, when you drill a hole into a stump and insert potassium nitrate, it speeds up the rotting process, by creating an environment favorable to fungi growth. The floor to that bathroom is wooden, whenever you look past the paper lining. From there, it didn't take much of a leap for me to conclude that the creator of that game used the pursuit of those so-called emblems as a means of having children 'accidentally' killed, that his plan was for some child to fall through the rotten bathroom floor, a fall that might've very likely proved fatal. I knew that I had to find her again, to warn her not to play the game. If anything happened to her because I just sat around and did nothing, well, that's not something that I wanted to have to live with. So the next day I went looking for her, and found her just in the nick of time. Does that answer satisfy you, detective?"

"I don't know. Should it?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Conan and Yasuda ran from the attic and followed the sound of Mitsuhiko's screaming.

 **Scene Transition**

As soon as Mitsuhiko had rolled back the bathroom curtain, he discovered a skeleton lying there.

"By the looks of it, this was probably an old woman," Yasuda said, touching the skeleton to examine it.

"Um, I get how maybe you can determine gender," Nancy said. "But how age?"

"These bones are brittle and stiff," Conan said. "They display symptoms of aging. This was probably an old woman, like he said. Besides, there were a few pictures hanging on the wall here and there. She was probably the sole resident of this house."

"Do you think Peniwaisu killed her?" Dr. Agasa asked.

"Not necessarily," Conan said. "It's possible that one day, while she was taking a bath or shower, she fell and broke her hip, evidenced by the fracture right there."

He pointed. "She may've been unable to get up, or escape this bathtub, and as a result she died either of starvation or dehydration. After a few days or so."

"Dehydration, in a bathtub?" Shiro said. "What bitter irony."

"It's sad, really," Dr. Agasa said. "By the look of that skeleton, it must've been lying here undiscovered for years. She must've lived alone, had no friends or family. Nobody noticed when she disappeared."

"A terrible way to go out," Ayumi said.

"But since Peniwaisu had been using this place and gone inside the house at least once," Nancy said, "then surely be knows about the body, right?"

"It would've been to his advantage to say nothing," Shiro said. "If she was elderly, then she likely received a stipend from the government. If they believed her to still be alive, then they'd keep mailing the pension money to her house, and Peniwaisu could line his own pockets."

"Great, he's not just a serial killer but also a con artist," Dr. Agasa said with disgust.

"Hold on a second," Conan said.

He ran out into the hallway. He took another look at the pic hanging on the wall.

"Who's that man?" Genta asked.

"She's old in these pictures, and he's young, so maybe he's...her son?" Nancy said.

Conan had a hunch in that moment. He took out his phone and snapped a picture of the photograph.

"Excuse me a minute please!" Conan called our behind him as he ran outside.

 **Scene Transition**

Subaru Okiya/Shuichi Akai was riding the subway in a traincar by himself whenever he received a text from Conan, with an image attached:

"Forward this image to your colleagues, Elena-san even. Have them identify the man in this picture, and find out his address, then forward this info back to me. Please hurry, we are dealing with a serial killer!"

And so, Subaru began to message Elena.

 **Scene Transition**

 **Ten Minutes Later**

They went back outside.

"Conan-kun, did you find anything useful out here?" Ayumi asked.

"Huh? Uh, no, I'm still waiting for-

*ding*

Subaru went this back:

"The man in the picture is Ryumon Date, age 40. He lives on 3331 Shizukusa Street, in Beika. He has been arrested twice for cybercrime, having last been released from prison six years ago. Since then, he's laid low, and fallen off the police's radar. The woman on the left is his mother."

That's him, Conan thought. I'm sure of it. " _Oi_ , Genta, you still got that map on you?"

Genta took it out of his backpack and gave it to Conan.

"Shizukusa Street...Yup, it's well within the lines. About 2-3 miles from here."

"Conan, what is it? Have you figured something out?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"Ayumi-chan," Conan said. "You were outside when the dogs attacked?"

She nodded.

"And the dogs were already outside?"

"Yeah. There were two doghouses outdoors," Yasuda said. "Right there."

He pointed.

"That must've been part of his alibi," Shiro said. "The fact that there's nothing there now. And the fact that he unlocked the front door. Had Ayumi-chan escaped, contacted the police, told them her story, and brought them here, the fact that there's no dogs and no dog house would cause them to doubt her story. And even if they went inside, as long as they didn't uncover the body in the shower it wouldn't look too suspicious to them. Finally, they would find no evidence that she owned dogs in the first place, and with that Ayumi-chan would be thought by them to have played a prank."

"He apparently wasn't aware of her extensive history with the police," Conan said. "Yasuda-san, I think you were mistaken: Inspector Megure most likely would've trusted her testimony even with seeming inconsistencies in what she claimed to have seen and what the crime scene looked like when they got there."

"My mistake then," Yasuda said. "But to be fair, turning to the police really didn't seem like a good idea at the time."

"Peniwaisu actually did ask me about my family, back when I was a player," Ayumi said. "He asked me about my mom and dad, aunts and uncles, and adult cousins, what kind of jobs they had."

"He must've been looking to see if you had family members who were with the police," Yasuda said. "That might've affected how likely they were to take your claims seriously and investigate."

"Ayumi-chan," Conan said, "The two dogs: did they happen to be pit bulls, by any chance?"

"A what?" Ayumi asked.

Conan goggled it and brought up a picture. "Did they look like this?"

Ayumi took a look at the picture. "Yeah, exactly like that! How did you know?"

"I just received word," Conan said. "Our man purchased two pit bulls nine months ago. I guess he must've been kept them malnourished on purpose, so that they'd be willing to kill and eat a human."

"Our man?" Shiro repeated. "You know who he is? How?"

"Oh, uh, I've been forwarding information to Uncle Kogoro," Conan lied.

And so, he told them Peniwaisu's true identity.

"Ryumon Date," Dr. Agasa repeated.

"If we know where he lives, then let's go bust him!" Genta said eagerly.

And it sounded like a pretty decent idea to all of them, when-

Conan's phone rang. It was...

It was coming from Ayumi's phone.

"It's him!" Conan announced.

Everyone was dead silent as Conan clicked "Answer" and put the phone to his ear:

"You must be Peniwaisu."

"Yes," the digitally altered voice said. "The mere fact that you know who I am means you've most likely made contact with Ayumi-chan by this point."

Conan growled. "Shut up! You of all people don't have any right to call her that!"

"Whatever. If she's there with you now, then please let me speak with her."

Conan handed the phone to Ayumi. She put it to her ear:

"Peniwaisu?" she said. "Is that you?"

"Yes. I have a question: how many people know? How many have you told? About me."

"Um, about seven people," Ayumi said.

"...I see. Have you figured out my identity yet?"

"Yes. We have. We visited your mother's house. Where's Maria-chan? What have you done with her?"

Instead of answering, he abruptly hung up.

"I would hate to be him right now," Nancy said with a grin. "There's no way he can silence everyone who knows his secret. And since the Japanese criminal justice system prioritizes confessions, the circumstantial evidence that we have should be enough to put him behind bars."

"If he can't silence the witnesses, his remaining option would be...to run away, perhaps?" Conan suggested.

Then, his phone rang again.

It was Kogoro.

Conan answered: "Yeah?"

"Hey, brat," Kogoro said, though the tone of his voice was unusually caring and sympathetic. "The man who attempted to murder your friend Ayumi...he just turned himself in to the police, and as we speak he's confessing to a large number of other murders. Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine," Conan said. "She's with us right now. The past two days she's been in hiding, but we found her."

"That's a relief," Kogoro said. "I'll notify her parents right away. She's ready to go home now?"

"I think so," Conan said. "Except for one thing: another person is missing, one of her friends from school. We suspect that man is behind it."

Kogoro sighed. "In that case, there's a good chance she's dea...Ow!...So what if my bedside manner's bad?... _Oi_!"

Eri took the phone from her husband. "Is Ayumi-chan's missing friend's name Maria?"

Conan nodded. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Her parents filed a missing person report to the police a few nights ago," Eri said. "One reason that the police have been slow to investigate Ayumi-chan's disappearance is because they were trying to find this Maria girl. Her and several other missing children, for which I would assume that man is responsible. If Maria's still alive, the police will find her. If the worst happens, I'll do everything I can to make sure this man gets the death penalty."

Conan smirked. "Don't forget, you're a defense attorney, not a prosecutor. But regardless, thank you for your kind words, and I'm sure that Ayumi-chan will take comfort in knowing that he won't be able to hurt anyone else."

Conan hung up, and turned to Ayumi. "Did hear get all that? It's over. Peniwaisu surrendered to the police. You're safe now."

Ayumi shook her head. "No, I can't rest until I know that Maria-chan's safe too."She

And that, just now, Yasuda thought, was you being extraordinary.

"What are we waiting for then?" Genta asked, a fierce determination on his face. "Let's go the police station and force that sicko to tell us where our friend is!"

 **Scene Transition**

"...Okay," Megure said, sitting on the other end of the table. "So to be clear, you are confessing to 20-30 accounts of first degree murder, through the use of a mobile game you created in order to ensnare children into deadly traps in remote parts of the city. You placed more than 3,000 stickers, called 'emblems', throughout Tokyo for that purpose. You confess also to covering up the death of your mother two and a quarter years ago in order to profit from her monthly government pension, which you used to help fund your death game. The only question I have is: why? Why would you commit such heinous acts, against the most innocent and vulnerable members of our society?"

Ryumon Date/Peniwaisu the Elder scoffed. "Innocent my right foot! I've had a few close friends from my childhood and my college years, so I've been active on social media sites. And again and again, I've been inundated with the same dang thing: Ten year olds on the internet, with devices given to them by mommy and daddy, posting lewd pictures of theirselves where anybody can see it, going on emotional tangents about their 'relationship status' and their 'breakups'. It was truly disgusting, and I thought to myself: these idiots should never be given the chance to reproduce. So I picked up where our old pal Natural Selection left off, and began killing brats with cell phones. For these violations of the Japanese legal code, I agree to serve 15 years in prison."

Stunned by this man's audacity, Megure stood up. "I think you do not understand the situation, 'sir'! For your crimes, the death penalty is a near guarantee!"

Ryumon/Peniwaisu shrugged. "Sure. But if you do that, Maria Higashio will die."

Megure grabbed the man by the collar. "What do you know about her?! What have you done to her? Where is she at?"

"Not telling," he said with a grin. "Not unless you offer me a plea bargain: I plea guilty and serve fifteen years, and in exchange I'll tell you where she is, before it's too late."

"Before it's...too late?" Megure repeated.

"Oh? You don't know? She'll be departing from this world by the end of the day, or well before then, if nobody gets to her in time. In short, she's my insurance policy: you can give me the punishment you think I deserve, or you can save a little girl who's on the verge of dying. But you can't do both. So which is it going to be?"

Having heard enough, Megure stood up and exited the room.

Kogoro, Eri, Dr. Agasa, Ayumi and her friends (including Yasuda) were waiting outside the door.

"Inspector, what of Maria-chan?" Ayumi asked.

Megure explained the situation to them.

"Listen," he said. "To me it's nearly unthinkable that the man in that room would only get 15 years. However, we've got to put a child's life above such concerns."

"Does that mean you're going to accept his deal?" Eri asked.

"That's not what I said. I am saying this: You all have 30 minutes to find her. After that, then we'll accept his deal."

"Thirty minutes is hardly any time at all!" Kogoro protested. "Can't you make it an hour?"

"Sorry, but given the uncertainty of Maria Higashio's situation, I'm not willing to wait longer than thirty minutes."

"We'd better get started then," Nancy said.

"You guys go on without me," Yasuda said. "I'm gonna go shut Triskelion down."

Conan nodded. "You know Peniwaisu's home address? It's 3331 Shizukusa Street."

"Got it."

"Are you sure you can handle that by yourself?" Ayumi asked.

"Ayumi-chan, I will shut down that game even if it kills me," Yasuda said. "That's a promise."

"Hold on," Shiro said. "Let me come with you."

"Huh? Genta said. "Shiro, you aren't interested in saving Maria-chan?"

"W-well, um, that's not what I-

"It's fine," Yasuda said. "This should only require one person. You go with them and save your friend."

And with that, Yasuda ran off.

"We need to split up and see if we can find her somewhere in this huge city," Conan said. "Chop chop!"

"Wait," Megure said. "Ayumi-chan, here's your phone back."

She accepted it. "Thanks."

And then she and her friends ran off to find Maria.

 **Scene Transition**

Yasuda, panting, made it to Shizukusa Street. He looked at his watch: Ayumi and her friends only had 8 minutes left. He wondered how they were doing. But of course, he had bigger concerns at the moment.

Spotting the home with the number 3331, he began to climb the stairs when-

The second floor veranda was blocked by a group of teenagers. He looked behind him; the bottom of the stairs was also blocked off by teenagers. In short, he was surrounded.

"I take it you're Peniwaisu's hired help?" Yasuda said.

"We're players of his game," one of them said. "We're the Knights of the White Chrysanthemum, the elite warriors of Prudentia! As of about thirty minutes ago, we were given reason for the first time ever to ally with our mortal enemies, the Knights of the Red Carnation, our Justitian counterparts, along with the best players from Temperantia and Fortitudo, to oppose an enemy that threatens us all!"

"A lot of big words in there," Yasuda said. "Am I supposed to understand what any of that meant?"

"It means we're not gonna let you kill our game!" one of the Justitian players said.

"You fools!" Yasuda said. "Do you realize how many people have actually died because of 'your game'?! Don't you realize that the deaths will continue, even without Peniwaisu, like a deadly landmine? It's an ugly blotch upon the city of Tokyo! You should be trying to help me dismantle it!"

"We don't care!" one of the Prudentia players said. "This game is far too important to us! We'll take it upon ourselves to find and eliminate the most dangerously placed emblems, and then everything will be fine. You can't stop us from playing!"

"Sorry, but the dangers are too great," Yasuda said. "I'm shutting it down, so you can either step aside or be shoved aside."

"We're sorry to hear you say that. Let's get'em!"

Yasuda jumped into the railing and ran up it. He landed safely on the veranda before any of them could react and he opened the door to 3331.

Then they grabbed him from behind and began to pull him back away from the door.

He shook free just enough to throw a spinning crescent kick at his assailants, stunning them long enough for him to run inside and slam the door behind him.

Several of their hands were sticking inside the room, preventing him from closing and locking the door. He leaned against the door by a pretty wide angle and planted his feet so as to keep them from overpowering him. Somebody's hand grabbed his hat and knocked it off his head.

He looked at the house that he was standing in, though he was unable to see any computers from where he was.

He knew that if he let off the door to look around the room, they'd come flooding in.

Just then, three teens who'd been waiting inside the house came into view and walked towards him menacingly.

Meanwhile, the people outside suddenly let off the door. He knew they were about to try to ram the door in one giant clustered mass, and that nothing he could do could stop them from overpowering him.

And so, he took this opportunity to lock the door, and then he forgot about the door and ran forward. He slugged one of the three teens with a punch to the jaw and just barely managed to break past the other two.

He ran into the main room of the house, but the computer wasn't there. He knew the most logical remaining option was the bedroom.

He kicked back one of the remaining youths and punched the other one in the jaw. The first one was starting to get up, but instead of going for him Yasuda ran for the bedroom, just as the teens outside succeeded in breaking down the door.

He locked the door to the bedroom and began barricading it.

Alas, the oldest of them, one of the Prudentia players who might've been an adult, was waiting in the bedroom.

He punched Yasuda, and the homeless hero staggered backwards, falling against the closet door.

The player punched him several times in the gut and then began to choke him.

"WHY do you havta ruin our fun?!" he demanded.

"Because I...made a promise!" Yasuda managed with great resolve.

He kneed the adult player in the groin, headlocked him, and threw him to the ground.

He spotted the computer: it was a desktop plugged into the wall and sitting on a desk. Or, rather, the monitor was; it displayed information relevant to the game. The actual computer sat underneath the desk, plugged into the wall also. If he could unplug it, he could temporarily shut the game down. If he could destroy the computer, that would effectively spell the end to Triskelion. His best bet of destroying the computer was to throw or drop it out the window, seeing as how they were on the second story.

The adult player had gotten up and threw a punch at Yasuda. Yasuda ducked and them low tackled him, pushing him back and knocking him half against the wall, half against the closet door.

In the course of the impact, the adult player hit the doorknob hard, and it caused him no small bit of pain.

Yasuda, still grabbing onto him, shifted his weight and did a judo throw, knocking the adult player to the floor. Yasuda then lept on top of him, throwing punch after punch like there was no tomorrow. Finally, he lifted him up and threw him on the bed.

The bedroom door was nearly demolished by this point, but the barricade was still holding, just barely.

Yasuda knew he didn't have a lot of time. He unplugged the computer and lifted it up. He went up to the bedroom door, then faced the window.

With a running start, he managed to throw the computer through the window, smashing the glass in the process.

Yasuda peered out the window: sure enough, the computer had been thoroughly demolished.

It was over. Triskelion has been downed, for good.

The players burst into the room, just in time to see the smashed window and realize what Yasuda had done.

They were downtrodden and didn't care as Yasuda walked past them and left.

 **Scene Transition**

Conan looked at his watch:

Twelve minutes left.

If we don't find Maria soon, he thought, that man will only serve a fifteen year sentence. When he gets out, he'll be able to start again, perhaps create another death game. He'd only be fifty five years old, after all. For the sake of the future children of this city, we must find her! Think, Kudo, where could she-

His phone rang.

 **Scene Transition**

"Yo."

"H-Haibara?!" Conan said.

Indeed: the evil eyed yawny girl with 1990s hair was calling from _Daizu-sensei_ 's phone, from onboard a helicopter flying above the city of Tokyo.

"Is Ayumi-chan okay?"

Conan nodded. "She's fine. Now we're looking for Maria."

"From school?" Haibara

"Yeah, that Maria."

"She hasn't tried calling anyone?" Haibara asked, not entirely sure what was going on.

"No, I would assume that Peniwaisu has her...wait a second. That's right. It doesn't seem he ever tried to use her phone, so...what if she still has it, but is unable to use it?"

"Well, I guess she might be trapped somewhere with a phone with no power."

"That seems unlikely. Ayumi-chan told us the game uses up a lot of power to play, so I think a player of Triskelion would be especially conscious of battery life."

"Maybe her phone got wet?" Haibara suggested.

"Uh, no, I've seen the model phone Maria uses and to my knowledge it's waterproof...wait a second. Excuse me a moment, I'll call you back."

Conan hung up.

"Was that Shinichi Kudo?" Daizu-sensei asked.

Haibara nodded. "Now they're looking for someone else, another friend who went missing."

"Where you do you want me to land this thing?" Hitoshi Kamiya asked.

"Um, well, I guess my-

Conan was calling again.

"Yes?" Haibara said.

"I just received confirmation, Peniwaisu recently purchased waterproof tape online."

"So Maria walked into some derelict structure,and then the door was closed and sealed with waterproof tape behind her, and then it was flooded?"

"Sounds about right. However, Maria's been in there for more than two days. There's no way she could stay awake, much less afloat, for that long."

"So it must've filled up with water slowly," Haibara said.

"Yeah. But in that case, you'd think she would be able to call someone, unless..."

"Unless?"

"Unless the building was made out of metal, which would block signals from coming in or out! A metal silo!"

"Maria's trapped in a metal silo that's filling up with water?"

"Yeah. But for it to be filling up with water, and not only that but also water that's warm enough to not cause her to go into hypothermic shock and die, a fairly large apparatus must be attached the silo."

"Somebody would notice by now, unless-

"Unless it was an abandoned silo," Conan said. "There's one of those in the area, if I recall."

"Yeah. Shimotsuki Industrial, which was abandoned about four years ago. That must be where she is!"

"Shimotsuki Industrial," Hitoshi Kamiya said. "Roger that. Estimated time of arrival, three minutes."

After they landed, Haibara found the silo, unpeeled the tape and opened the door. Water flooded out, and Maria was found inside, deeply shaken up but alive.

As soon as Megure received word of this, he sent away the lawyer on scene and Ryumon Date/Peniwaisu did not get the plea bargain. Instead, after an unexpectedly lengthy trial he was sentenced to death.

 **Ending**

( _Hoshi Monogatari_ by Egoist)

I know you've taken this from my cold dead fingertips

I wrote this to tell you what I never had the nerve to say

Because I know that right now, you're punishing yourself

Because you of all people deserve to know the whole story

Once I was only a child, but I was old enough to understand

Something important was missing, though I didn't know what

I wandered in the dark, calling to the crowd, "Excuse me, sirs!"

"Somebody, anybody, please, tell me what I'm doing wrong!"

Finally, on the starry night of Tanabata, I looked out my window

And said, "Kami-sama, if you could let me have a friend, just one.

One who's true and faithful, and funny, but most of all spirited.

This one thing I ask, and I'll never ask for anything ever again."

And then I met you, and in what seemed like an eternity I had

The chance to know you, and for the first time I was really happy

It never ended, you see, that initial bliss: it grew, as we grew closer

Thank you, my one and dearest friend, for teaching me how to love

 **A Few Days Later**

"...So you see, Yasuda-san saved my life, and perhaps that of other kids as well," Ayumi said. "Whatmore, he taught me what it means to be extraordinary. An extraordinary person puts others before himself. I believe that Yasuda-san is therefore an extraordinary person, and I humbly ask you to give him a job."

The school principal looked at Ayumi and then at the well-groomed man standing before him. (Grateful for all that he had done for their daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Yoshida offered to let Yasuda stay at their house for a while, where he was able to shower, brush his teeth, apply deodorant and borrow a fancy suit for this day.)

"Will you work hard?" he asked.

"As hard as it takes, sir."

"Are you willing to work all hours of the day, and even at night?"

"Yes sir, within reason."

The Principle nodded. "Okay. Our old nightguard was pretty terrible at his job anyway. You'll be taking his job, and have a few hours during the day working as a janitor."

"That sounds good to me. When do I start?"

"Tonight." He extended his hand and Yasuda shook it.

As they were leaving...

"Yes!" Ayumi said. "Congratulations on your new job!"

"Thanks. It wouldn't be possible without your endorsement."

"So, um, listen," she said. "I've been doing some thinking, and...people throw away a lot of perfectly good stuff. So whenever you don't have work and when I'm free, how about the two of us go digging for usable items in good condition and see if we can't donate some of it to a homeless shelter?"

Yasuda nodded. "We could do a lot of good that way, couldn't we? I'm in. But you know, why stop with just the two of us? Why don't you get some of your friends involved too? Of course, at least one adult would have to be present at all times, as there are some hazards that come with the territory, but I think if done properly it could work out nicely."

And so, Ayumi began a youth effort that, eventually, grew to the point where its participants donated as much as $300 million worth of salvaged goods to Japanese non-profit organizations every year.

Valkyrie had a new mission.

 **The End**


End file.
